Lithuanian military aid for Ukraine could include weaponry

Posted On
Friday, 28 November 2014 10:59

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Defence & Security News - Lithuania & Ukraine

Friday, November
28, 2014 11:52 AM

Lithuanian
military aid for Ukraine could include weaponry

According
to Reuters, Lithuania may supply weapons to Ukraine as part of military
aid it promised to help Kiev fight pro-Russian separatists, the Lithuanian
defense minister told the news agency in an interview on Wednesday, November
26.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko

NATO
countries have so far been reluctant to arm non-member Ukraine against
the well-equipped rebels in order to avoid provoking Russia, although
the United States is providing Ukraine with non-lethal military equipment.

Before
a ceasefire came into effect on Sept. 5, the Russian-backed fighters inflicted
heavy losses on government forces as they battled to claim parts of Ukraine's
east. Kiev says more than 150 government troops have died since the truce
began.

Lithuania,
which last month launched its own liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal
to safeguard against a potential Russian gas cut-off, is taking an increasingly
assertive stance against its former imperial overlord.

"All
things should be on the table," Lithuanian Defense Minister
Juozas Olekas said when asked whether the Baltic state could support Ukraine
with weaponry.

"We've
agreed (with Ukraine) that they will check what they need and
we will check what we can send them, and then we will find a final conclusion
- what we can do, how we can support," he said.

During
a visit to Kiev this week, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko announced at a joint press conference
that Lithuania would be providing Ukraine with military aid, but did not
specify if this would include weaponry or be of the non-lethal kind.

Grybauskaite
has angered Russia by branding it a "terrorist state" for its
role in eastern Ukraine and because Russian customs no longer allow Lithuanian-registered
trucks to carry goods into the country.

The
United Nations says more than 4,300 people have been killed overall in
the conflict in Ukraine.